Angry Anderson May Run For Federal Seat As A National

The Rose Tattoo frontman is planning a tilt at politics as a National and is already eyeing off two federal seats in NSW.

Angry Anderson and Rose Tattoo. Photo by Ros O'Gorman.

Anderson told the Illawarra Mercury that he was a disenchanted Labor voter and joined the conservative rural party The Nationals last week.

He said “I think, and so do the Nationals, that there are people like myself starting to realise you don’t have to blindly or naively vote for the same party, you’re actually allowed to vote differently at elections.”

He confirmed that he has discussed running as a candidate for the seat of Throsby, which is adjacent to Anderson’s home city of Wollongong. He also told The Australianthat Opposition Leader Tony Abbott suggested the seat of Page, on NSW’s North Coast.

Both seats are currently held by Labor members.

Anderson told The Australian,“Over the last year or so I’ve found the Nationals to be very democratic, they are a smaller party and very democratic.”

He also said, “Once we get past the ‘Who does he think he is?’, my qualification is that I’m a passionate Australian. I’m not nationalistic but I’m certainly patriotic.”